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Abide Therapeutics partners with Oxford University on new drug targets

US-based Abide Therapeutics has entered into a collaborative agreement with the University of Oxford and the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust to explore the therapeutic potential of serine hydrolases in diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

As part of the deal, Abide and Oxford will study the role of monoacylglycerol lipase (MGLL) inhibitors in altering endocannabinoid tone in the human brain.

The partnership will combine the capabilities of the Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) with the company’s chemoproteomics platform.

Under the deal, Abide will provide support for at least three Phase Ib trials as well as for directed new target discovery efforts.

Abide Therapeutics president and CEO Alan Ezekowitz said: "This collaborative agreement is a true delight as it extends the founding vision of Abide which is to partner with enlightened academic investigators that have unique insights into how best to test novel therapies at the earliest stages of clinical development.

"Furthermore, the institutional component of the agreement is only possible because of great execution of Sir John Bell’s vision establishing Oxford as one the foremost academic centers in the world for translational science."

The collaboration is aimed at exploring MGLL in a number of clinical indications to determine proof of biology in man and additionally to discover new serine hydrolase targets using samples from patients with inflammatory conditions in collaboration with Professors Alison Simmons and Peter Taylor.

The three-year agreement has been supported through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).